My name is MIA
I am eternal.
I've fought in every war
since the beginning of time.
Most often I have been found
and taken home.

But in Korea I was not.
I was marched in the bitter
cold and the snow.
I was taken to North Korea
where I was brain washed
and lost my way.
Yet I know I am different
from those around me,
but I do not know my name.

I was taken to China
to be a slave labor,
they have forgotten we
were once allies
and tried to save their land.

I fell and could not get up
and they shot me where I lay.
I fell, got up and continued
my work.

I was taken to Russia
to the cold Siberian snows.
There I perished, but they
will not tell you where I am.

In Vietnam I was again lost.
I was kept in a cage in the
dark wet jungle.

I also was killed and buried
in that same jungle.

I was marched to Hanoi where
I was used as a propaganda tool.
I was taken to the killing fields
of Cambodia.

I was again taken to China
as slave labor.
In the Middle East I was found.

In Bosnia I was found.
But in Korea, as in Vietnam
I still remain.

My name is MIA -
I want to come home!!

-by S.O. Bailey
copyrighted 1999

This Award is
issued to this site by the
Advisory Board of the
POW/MIA
Freedom Fighters Organization,
for it's early and steadfast commitment to
our missing Warriors

Visit my
memorial page

This very special
Mi-24 helicopter is presently flying in Afghanistan, where it is no
doubt causing quite a stir! click on thumbnails for larger view

Thank you for visiting
my
POW-MIA Pages

We Sent them There
We Left Them
Now Let's Bring Them HOME!

Click above to
read a speech given by Captain Dan Quimette, XO, NAS Pensacola, Florida on
19 February 2003.
Colonel Herk Swaney, USMC, Retired, gave this speech, with a few
additions, at the Memorial Service, Veterans Memorial Cemetary, Santa
Rosa, California on Memorial Day, 26 May 2003.

Click on photo
to read about & see more photos of the ceremonies at Arlington

Look at
the cosponsors on (S-1339) "The Persian Gulf war POW/MIA Accountability
Act of 2001" which is called THE SPEICHER BILL. It is on
www.greasyonline.comIf people cared then we would have more co-sponsors
on the bill. We have less than ten, yes less than TEN and the bill has
been out since August 7th last year. If the POW/MIA groups just had
their senators on in their states, we would have most states on as
co-sponsors. If the veteran organizations had the senators on from their
states, we would have most states on the bill. It is a disgrace
since we are talking and not doing much. It is time for the people that
have POW/MIA patches and will wave the POW/MIA flag to do something.
Do not expect anyone to do it for you.
What can YOU do?? The senators are in their home state for two weeks. Call
your court house and ask for your two senators offices in your state and
call the two offices in your state and ask that they cosponsor THE
SPEICHER BILL (S-1339). Have ten friends do the same. There is no reason
not to co-sponsor. As it stands now most people do not care enough
to work and
get their senators on as a co-sponsor. The senate offices are not getting
calls or faxes. (Forget the e-mails as they do nothing).

CALL AND FAX IF YOU CARE.
If Capt. Speicher comes home can you look him in the eye and say that YOU
did all that you could do to help bring him home???

I watched the Flag pass
by one day,
It fluttered in the breeze.
A young Marine saluted it,
And then, he stood at ease.

I looked at him in
uniform,
So young, so tall, so proud,
With hair cut square and eyes alert
He'd stand out in any crowd.

I thought how many men like him
Had fallen through the years.
How many died on foreign soil?
How many Mother's tear?

How many
pilot's planes shot down?
How many died at sea?
How many foxholes were soldier's graves?
NO ... FREEDOM IS NOT FREE!

I heard the sound of taps one night,
When everything was still
I listened to the bugler play,
And felt a sudden chill.
I wondered just how many times
That Taps had meant "AMEN"
When a Flag had covered a coffin
Of a loved one or a friend.

I thought of all the
Children, of the Mothers
and the Wives, of Fathers, Sons and Husbands,
With interrupted lives.
I thought about a graveyard at the bottom of the sea,
Of unmarked graves in Arlington ...
NO ... FREEDOM IS NOT FREE!

This poem was written
by CDR
Kelly Strong, United States Coast Guard.and appears here courtesy of the
Consolvo Family
as does the graphic below

Marines ducking shell fragments at Khe Sanh, South
Vietnam.
This base was surrounded and besieged for 75 days in 1968
Click on above photo to visit Patty Mielke's touching POW-MIA page
This photo is from the Military Times Newsweekly Group Magazine

The Marine
veteran holding the U.S. Flag is Steve Bozeman. He was a sergeant
and served four years in the Corps. Two of those years were in
Vietnam as a helicopter machine gunner. He was awarded two purple
hearts. He carries the flag to honor and remember those 58,000 servicemen
who served and died in Vietnam. He stops at the Vietnam Veterans
Memorial for a 21 second salute to the men and women on the Wall. He
has run the Marine Corps Marathon 23 times. Among Steve's many other
running accomplishments he has been 12 times a Double Ironman Triathlon
finisher and swam from the "Rock" in the Alcatraz Triathlon.

The Marine
holding the Marine Corps flag is SSGT Mark Mishler, stationed at Ft. Lee,
Virginia. He has carried the USMC flag with Steve for the past two
years and is the 6th Marine to run with Steve since he started this
tradition in 1987.

Marine Corps
Marathon, Washington, D.C. - 22 October 2000
This photo was taken by Michael R. Scherr at the
15 mile point near the Lincoln Memorial.

Col. Robert A. Scherr, USMCUSMC photo taken 17 September 1964
at the time he was with the 1st Marine Airwing,
3rd Marine Expeditionary Force, n Da Nang, Vietnam
Click on photo to go to
Steve Scherr's Tribute to our father

Click on the compass to visit my page
chronicling my father's travels, with photos,
while he served in the Marine Corps

from OCS at Quantico in 1942 to Vietnam in 1965

.Click on patch above to visit my page dedicated
toSergeant Major Maurice Jacques, USMCA great Marine Warrior and distant cousin
to the webmaster

The Navy Hymn - Eternal
FatherOriginal Words
Eternal Father, strong to save,
Whose arm hath bound the restless wave,
Who bidd'st the mighty ocean deep
Its own appointed limits keep;
Oh, hear us when we cry to Thee,
For those in peril on the sea!

O Christ! Whose voice the waters heard
And hushed their raging at Thy word,
Who walked'st on the foaming deep,
And calm amidst its rage didst sleep;
Oh, hear us when we cry to Thee,
For those in peril on the sea!

Most Holy Spirit! Who didst brood
Upon the chaos dark and rude,
And bid its angry tumult cease,
And give, for wild confusion, peace;
Oh, hear us when we cry to Thee,
For those in peril on the sea!

O Trinity of love and power!
Our brethren shield in danger's hour;
From rock and tempest, fire and foe,
Protect them wheresoe'er they go;
Thus evermore shall rise to Thee
Glad hymns of praise from land and sea.

There are have been alternate verses. These and their authors are:

Lord, guard and guide the men who fly
Through the great spaces in the sky.
Be with them always in the air,
In darkening storms or sunlight fair;
Oh, hear us when we lift our prayer,
For those in peril in the air!
Mary C. D. Hamilton (1915)

Eternal Father, grant, we pray,
To all Marines, both night and day,
The courage, honor, strength, and skill
Their land to serve, thy law fulfill;
Be thou the shield forevermore
From every peril to the Corps.
J. E. Seim (1966)

Lord, stand beside the men who build,
And give them courage, strength, and skill.
O grant them peace of heart and mind,
And comfort loved ones left behind.
Lord, hear our prayers for all Seabees,
Where'er they be on land or sea.
R. J. Dietrich (1960)

Lord God, our power evermore,
Whose arm doth reach the ocean floor,
Dive with our men beneath the sea;
Traverse the depths protectively.
O hear us when we pray, and keep
Them safe from peril in the deep.
David B. Miller (1965)

O God, protect the women who,
In service, faith in thee renew;
O guide devoted hands of skill
And bless their work within thy will;
Inspire their lives that they may be
Examples fair on land and sea.
Lines 1-4, Merle E. Strickland (1972) and
adapted by James D. Shannon (1973)
Lines 5-6, Beatrice M. Truitt (1948)

Creator, Father, who dost show
Thy splendor in the ice and snow,
Bless those who toil in summer light
And through the cold antarctic night,
As they thy frozen wonders learn;
Bless those who wait for their return.
L. E. Vogel (1965)

Eternal Father, Lord of hosts,
Watch o'er the men who guard our coasts.
Protect them from the raging seas
And give them light and life and peace.
Grant them from thy great throne above
The shield and shelter of thy love.
Author unknown

Eternal Father, King of birth,
Who didst create the heaven and earth,
And bid the planets and the sun
Their own appointed orbits run;
O hear us when we seek thy grace
From those who soar through outer space.
J. E. Volonte (1961)

Creator, Father, who first breathed
In us the life that we received,
By power of thy breath restore
The ill, and men with wounds of war.
Bless those who give their healing care,
That life and laughter all may share
. Galen H. Meyer (1969)
Adapted by James D. Shannon (1970)

God, Who dost still the restless foam,
Protect the ones we love at home.
Provide that they should always be
By thine own grace both safe and free.
O Father, hear us when we pray
For those we love so far away.
Hugh Taylor (date Unk)

Lord, guard
and guide the men who fly
And those who on the ocean ply;
Be with our troops upon the land,
And all who for their country stand:
Be with these guardians day and night
And may their trust be in thy might.
Author Unknown (1955)

O Father, King of earth and sea,
We dedicate this ship to thee.
In faith we send her on her way;
In faith to thee we humbly pray:
O hear from heaven our sailor's cry
And watch and guard her from on high!

And when at
length her course is run,
Her work for home and country done,
Of all the souls that in her sailed
Let not one life in thee have failed;
But hear from heaven our sailor's cry,
And grant eternal life on high!
Author/date Unknown

Additional verses provided by
someone who found a site dedicated to the USS Missouri and its "burial" at sea.
"On that site I found two more verses that I thought were an appropriate for
your site."

O.
Father as we sing Your praises,
Help us locate our MIAs.
Protect these loved ones day and night,
As we search on with all our might.
To You, on high, we raise this prayer:
"Lord, keep them in your healing care."

For prisoners of war we pray,
That they will see a brand new day.
When by Your power You restore,
Their liberty forever more.
O. Father, at Your throne we sing,
"Please, let them all hear freedom's ring."

Subject: An Unusual Marine Memo..

Not the typical office
memo we're used to seeing in our somewhat drab, utilitarianwork spaces

25 July, 2001

From Colonel ----
CO, MATSG-33

Yesterday afternoon
around 15:10, some of you may have seen mestanding in front of my
office with a female Navy Petty Officer 1st Class.She was wearing
her dungaree uniform. She was shaking, she was crying,and it was obvious that
she was in severe emotional pain. You may have seen me hug her, you may
have seen us talk for about four minutes until she turned and left the
building. Four minutes is not very long, but those were four of the most
eye-opening minutes I have ever experienced as a U.S. Marine.

The Petty Officer entered the front hatch of MATSG-33 looking confused and
distraught. Thinking she was just another sailor looking for directions
somewhere aboard NAS Oceana, I walked out of my office and greeted her and
asked if I could help her. The name on her shirt said, "Stewart". PO1
Stewart remained silent and stationary, staring blankly at the deck. I
asked her if everything was okay. Her hands started shaking and her bottom
lip started to quiver as tears began streaming down her face. She just
stood there, clutching her cover tightly in both hands as she cried
silently for about twenty seconds before she could manage to get a word
out. I was feeling helpless at this point because I had no idea what to
say to her without knowing what was wrong. After she told me, I still had
no idea what to say. I was just proud to be a Marine.

Through choked-back tears, PO1 Stewart told me why she came to MATSG-33.
She said she was talking with four of her closest friend's one day while
they were on ship last October. Their ship was the USS Cole.She said that it all
happened so quickly. One moment they were talking as usual and the next
moment, all four of her friends were lying beside her, and she was the
only one alive. PO1 Stewart said the real terror sunk in moments after the
explosion, after she saw the dead, soot covered bodies of her friends,
when she realized that at any moment, another explosion may take the lives
of more of her shipmates or her own. She said she was so afraid that the
terrorists weren't finished with them yet. Then she saw the Marines. The
Marines came and secured the area. The Marines came and secured the
survivors. PO1 Stewart said that she knew, and everyone on the USS Cole
knew, that the terrorists had got their one deadly shotin, but no more lives
would be lost that day while the Marines were there.

I know that it was one of the FAST companies that responded that day.PO1 Stewart only knows
that it was the Marines. I used to be an infantryman and part of the
Marine Security Force, but that was five years ago. I have never set foot
on the USS Cole or patrolled its surrounding waters. The day the USS Cole
was bombed, I was sitting at a desk doing paperwork on a quiet Navy Base
in Virginia Beach. Yet on an ordinary summer day, a Navy Petty Officer 1st
Class who felt theexplosion
of the USS Cole and saw her shipmates die before her, walked into Marine
Aviation Training Support Group-33 to find any Marine whom she could look
in the face and say thank you to.

I was choked up and absolutely stunned by what I had just heard. I hugged
PO1 Stewart and I offered to contact the FAST companies to locate the
Marines who responded that day, but she told me that she was retiring this
week and this was closure for her. By saying thank you to a Marine, she
is ready to try and move on from her nightmare. I told her that I would
extend her thanks. PO1 Stewart said thank you once more, turned and walked
out of MATSG-33. I sat back down in the chair of my quiet office and
continued my paperwork - with a much better view of the big picture.

The
"Navy Hymn" is Eternal Father, Strong to Save. The original words were
written as a poem in 1860 by William Whiting of Winchester, England, for a
student who was about to sail for the United States. The melody, published in
1861, was composed by fellow Englishman, Rev. John Bacchus Dykes, an
Episcopalian clergyman. The hymn, found in most hymnals, is known as the
"Navy hymn" because it is sung at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland.
It is also sung on ships of the Royal Navy (U.K.) and has been translated into
French. Eternal Father was the favorite hymn of President Franklin
Delano Roosevelt and was sung at his funeral in Hyde Park, New York, in April
1945. It was also played by the Navy Band in 1963 as President John F. Kennedy's
body was carried up the steps of the U.S. Capitol to lie in state. Roosevelt had
served as Secretary of the Navy and Kennedy was a PT boat commander in World War
II. (Information from
The Presbyterian Hymnal Companion by LindaJo H. McKim, Westminster/John Knox
Press, Louisville, Ky. 1993)

Click on stamp to email me

Thanks to David Decker for the U.S. Flag at
halfmast
found on Doug Kidd's site